It is important for children to have playthings which are both safe and fun for them to use. Since a child may spend much time playing during his or her developmental years, another significant consideration in making toys is that they aid in developing the child's intellect and creativity. Creative leisure activities are indeed beneficial for people of all ages. It is also helpful for toys to be sturdy, that is, unlikely to break or crack when dropped or handled roughly, and which are simple and inexpensive to make, thus minimizing their cost.
Weaving devices intended for use as playthings have been known. For example, weaving toys are described in the following patents: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,136,552, titled "Hand Loom," issued to Page on Nov. 15, 1938; 2,527,333, titled "Toy Handweaving Device," issued to Raizen on Oct. 24, 1950; 2,601,715, titled "Weaving Device," issued to Simonds on Jul. 1, 1952; and 3,294,124, titled "Adjustable Weaving Loom," issued to Berger on Dec. 27, 1966.
Each of the frames described in the foregoing patents are designed for weaving fabric or yarn into cloth or rectangular pads. (See, e.g., Raizen '333 pat., col. 4, lines 42-50; Berger '124 pat., col. 1, line 45; Page '552 pat., page 2, col. 3, line 3). Thus, the user is limited with these toys to making pads of material, such as weaved pot holders or other pieces of cloth. Accordingly, the extent to which the toy may aid in developing one's creativity is constrained. Also, the device(s) that may be used in those cases are limited in that a frame having four sides defining a square or rectangular frame is required, so that the yarn or string can be held taut between facing parallel sides of the frame. None of the foregoing patents describe a device or method for making toys or toy figures.
Other weaving devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,601,222, titled "Toy Bead Loom," issued to Wehrli on Jun. 17, 1952, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,823, titled "Weaving Apparatus and Method of Using and Resulting Toy," issued to Lamb on Apr. 29, 1975. With the device described in the Wehrli patent, beaded items such as necklaces and belts may be made. Again, this patent does not disclose a device or method for making toy figures. Also, in Wehrli, a needle is used to weave beads onto a weaving apparatus which could be difficult for small children to handle, and the weaving apparatus is more complicated, e.g., it has more parts, than the frames of the previously-described patents. The frame described in the Lamb patent may be used to make toys. In Lamb, the material being weaved is a continuous piece of yam or string which is wrapped around axles disposed in a parallel orientation relative to each other. In Lamb, after the yarn is wound around the dowel members, it is severed, i.e., with use of a knife or razor blade (see Lamb '823 pat., col. 6, lines 11-12). Naturally the need to use a knife or razor blade in conjunction with a child's plaything presents disadvantages.
Thus, it would be advantageous to have a weaving device and method that is flexible in terms of the items that may be created with the toy to aid in developing one's creativity.